# River Poems

- Link: https://writersworkshopindia.com/2015/07/19/river-poems/
- Published: 2015-07-19T17:57:16+00:00
- Author: admin

4.9/5 - (17 votes)

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**Author:** Mamang Dai[⌊A sample cover of the book: midnight blue handloom sari with gold embossed nameplate and lettering for the title and author's name. The border of the sari lines the right hand margin of the cover.⌉](https://writersworkshopindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/River-Poems.jpeg)
**
Pages:** 92 **Year of Publication:** First published 2004, second revised and expanded
edition 2013, Reprint 2023

**Price:** Rs 400

**ISBN:**
 978-93-5045-065-9 (9789350450659)

_**About the Author**_
 Mamang Dai is a poet and novelist from Pasighat, East Siang
District, Arunachal Pradesh. A former member of the Indian Administrative Service,
she chose to pursue a career in journalism and was a correspondent for the _Hindustan
Times, The Telegraph_ and _The Sentinel_. She has also worked with World Wildlife
Fund in Itanagar for the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspots programme. In 2003,
Dai received the state’s Verrier Elwin Award for her book _Arunachal Pradesh – The
Hidden Land_, that documented the culture and customs of the state. Her other books
include _The Legends of Pensam, Stupid Cupid_ (novels), _El bálsamo del tiempo –
The balm of time_ (a bilingual poetry volume), _Mountain Harvest – The Food of Arunachal_
and _Once upon a Moon Time_ (illustrated folklore for young readers). She has featured
on several national and international forums and her writing has been published 
in various journals and anthologies. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2011 for 
her contribution in the field of literature and education. Dai lives in Itanagar.

_**About the Book**_
 This edition comprises the same poems that were present in
the first edition except for minor corrections and punctuation changes made by the
author. One poem, ‘Egret River’, has been added; this was written some time in 1992-
93 and thus belongs to the time period when the other poems in this collection were
written.

_**Teaser**_

_Birthplace_

We are the children of the rain
 of the cloud woman, brother to the stone and bat
in our cradle of bamboo and vine in our long houses we slept, and when morning came
we were refreshed.

There were no strangers
 in our valley. Recognition was instant as clan by clan 
we grew, and destiny was simple like a green shoot following direction like the 
sun and moon.

The first drop of water
 gave birth to man. From red sheath to green stem and the
spreading wind:

We descend
 from solitude and miracles.

_**Contents**_
 52 poems

## Comments

### By: TV Ramana

- Link: https://writersworkshopindia.com/2015/07/19/river-poems/#comment-15
- Published: 2026-06-20T11:35:20+00:00

I did research on these poems in my thesis. Wonderful collection.

### By: Shuktara

- Link: https://writersworkshopindia.com/2015/07/19/river-poems/#comment-16
- Published: 2026-06-22T15:43:15+00:00

Thank you for sharing your appreciation with us; we completely agree with you! Happy
to hear your thesis focuses on Ms Dai’s poems as well. She’s one of the best poets
writing in India, one of the most powerful contemporary poets anywhere in the world.